When Crossrail Opens To Reading, Will Great Western Railway Have Too Many Class 387 Trains?
Currently, Great Western Railway has a fleet of 45 Class 387 trains
Twelve trains are currently being converted to Heathrow Express duties.
But if Crossrail takes over services between London and Reading, then their main use wuill have disappeared.
As Reading to Oxford is not fully-electrified, they can’t be used on this route, but both Class 802 and Class 769 trains can.
There may be used for trains on routes like.
- Reading and Didcot Parkway
- Reading and Newbury
But there won’t be opportunities to use thirty-three trains.
Porterbrook Awards £11m Contract To Modify New Digital Heathrow Express Fleet
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Rail Technology Magazine.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Porterbrook has unveiled a £11m contract with Bombardier to modify 12 Class 387 trains in preparation for their use on the Heathrow Express rail link.
The 12 specially converted ‘Electrostar’ trains currently operate on London commuter services for GWR but will now form a dedicated Heathrow Express fleet of electric multiple-units.
As other Class 387 trains are used on Gatwick Express, I’m sure that the trains will end up as some of the best airport expresses in the world.
But I feel that this is the most significant paragraph in the article.
The deal will also see the company fit digital signalling equipment, called ETCS, to the Class 387s – the first-time digital signalling will have been fitted on an existing fleet of electric passenger trains and will result in ‘type approval’ from the ORR which will enable ETCS to be fitted on all Electrostar fleets.
Fitting ETCS to the Heathrow Express trains will have several benefits.
More Trains Between Paddington And Reading
With the refurbishment of the Class 387 trains for the Heathrow Express, there will only be three types of trains between Paddington and Reading stations.
- Class 387 trains
- Class 800/801/802 trains
- Class 345 trains
Within a few years, all of these trains will be able to use ETCS and the benefits will be more trains between Paddington and Reading stations.
The trains would probably be a few minutes faster too!
All Electrostars Will Be Able To Be Updated With Digital Signalling
If the digital signalling works for the Class 387 trains, it would appear that it could be fitted to all the other Electrostars.
This could be very significant, as several busy lines have a high proportion of Electrostars.
These are my thoughts on some lines.
Brighton Main Line
The trains working the Brighton Main Line include.
- Gatwick Express’s Class 387 trains.
- Thameslink’s Class 700 trains, which are already using ETCS.
- Southern’s Electrostars.
Could we see digital signalling increase the capacity of this line.
East London Line
The East London Line is an all-Electrostar line and in the next few years, with the coming of Crossrail, it will probably need more services.
I suspect it will be using digital signalling and ETCS in a few years time.
North And West London Lines
If the East London Line were to be successfully signalled to bring capacity benefits, I could see the North London and West London Lines following suit.
The Class 710 trains, that will be boosting passenger capacity are Aventras and will be compatible with digital signalling. The freight locomotives are also being upgraded to digital signalling.
c2c
In a few years time, c2c will be using only Electrostars and Aventras! So why not use digital signalling?
As more new trains arrive with digital signalling, more lines will be converted to digital signalling and ETCS.
Conclusion
The updating of twelve Class 387 trains for Heathrow Express is a big step in the creation of a digital railway.
The Massive Taxi Queues At Paddington
I took this picture at Paddington in the late morning.
There were masses of passengers with heavy cases queuing for the taxis.
I suspect all had been conned into coming into London on the overpriced Heathrow Express.
Roll on, Crossrail!
Ticketing On Heathrow Southern Railway
This article on City AM is entitled New Elizabeth Line Services Are Coming To Heathrow’s Terminal 5 After Airport Strikes Deal With The Government and TfL. It contains this paragraph.
Heathrow has also announced that it is introducing Oyster and contactless payments for all rail services going into the airport. From May 2018, new ticket readers will be installed at Heathrow, so anyone using Heathrow Express and TfL Rail will be able to use an Oyster or contactless.
When I passed through Heathrow a couple of weeks ago, there was evidence of new ticket gates being installed.
Heathrow Southern Railway’s Proposed Services
Heathrow Southern Railway are proposing four services to the West of Terminal 5 at Heathrow.
- Heathrow Express from Terminal 5 to Woking, Guildford and Basingstoke, with an additional stop at Farnborough Main.
- Crossrail from Terminal 5 to Staines
- A service from Terminal 5 to Waterloo with stops at Staines, Clapham Junction and possibly Ashford, Felham, Twickenham, Richmond and Vauxhall.
- A service from Terminal 5 to Weybridge with stops at Egham, Virginia Water, Chertsey and Addlestone.
Some of the stations like those between Feltham and Waterloo already accept contactless ticking, but surely all of them must if Heathrow Southern Railway is built, as you’ll be able to use contactless ticketing at Heathrow, but not at say Woking or Basingstoke.
Onward From Basingstoke, Guildford And Woking
A proportion of travellers from places like Bournemouth, Exeter, Portsmouth, Salisbury and Southampton will use Heathrow Southern Railway to get to the airport, with an appropriate change at Basingstoke, Guidford or Woking.
Will these travellers want to use contactless ticketing?
Conclusion
There will be a lot of discussions about ticketing on the Heathrow Southern Railway.
These ticketing issues, help to make it very understandable, why MTR, a partner in South Western Railway, want to join the Heathrow Southern Railway, as I wrote about in MTR Vying To Join Heathrow Southern Rail Bid.
Travellers want the ticketing system with the least hassle and as London is proving, contactless ticketing with bank cards works well!
GWR Announces Plans To Replace Class 332s As It Takes Over Heathrow Express Service
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Global Rail News.
In some ways, I was surprised that Heathrow Airport are handing over the running of Heathrow Express to Great Western Railway (GWR).
But.
- It seems, that the main problem, in that HS2 want their depot for construction of their new line.
- GWR will use twelve Class 387 trains to run the service as opposed to the the current fourteen Class 332 trains.
- The new trains will be updated with First Class, high speed wi-fi and more luggage space.
- The deal seems to run to 2028.
I do think, that the main reason could be, that this gives FirstGroup or MTR Corporation a say in all the railways, serving or going near Heathrow Airport.
- GWR is owned by FirstGroup.
- Crossrail is operated by MTR on begalf of Transport for London.
- South Western Railway is a joint venture between FirstGroup and MTR.
The operation of Heathrow Express by GWR completes the set.
My post; MTR Vying To Join Heathrow Southern Rail Bid, could link MTR to the proposed Heathrow Southern Railway, who are hoping to create a link into Heathrow Airport from the South.
One of the plans of Heathrow Southern Railway is to create a new Basingstoke/Guildford – Woking – Heathrow – Paddington service.
- This would have a frequency of two trains per hour (tph) between Paddington and both Basingstoke and Guildford.
- This would mean there would be a four tph Frequency between Paddington and Woking via Heathrow Terminal 5, Heathrow Terminal 2/3 and Old Oak Common.
- Creating the new service by extending Heathrow Express, means that the new service can take-over the paths used by Heathrow Express, to and from Paddington.
- It is also worth noting that the Class 387 trains, that GWR are proposing to use on Heathrow Express are dual-voltage and can run on tracks with third-rail electrification.
Heathrow Express will become a double-ended service, in much the same way that Gatwick Express takes passengers from both London and Brighton to the airport.
GWR taking over Heathrow Express must make the operation of trains to and from Heathrow Airport easier.
Why Change The Trains?
I think there are various reasons.
Operation And Maintenance
Obviously, if GWR uses only Class 387 trains on their shorter electrified routes from Paddington, this gives advantages in terms of operation, maintenance and staff utilisation and training.
I suspect too, that GWR have the depot space and sidings, to accommodate all the Class 387 trains they need.
Increasing Fleet Size
There are two published plans y to increase rail services to Heathrow.
- Heathrow Southern Railway would like to extend Heathrow Express to Woking and ultimately to Basingstoke and Guildford.
- Western access to Heathrow could also be a route for Heathrow Express to perhaps Reading and Oxford.
In the future there could be other services.
- Developments could mean that a Heathrow-Gatwick service could be possible and worthwhile.
- There is speculation in the media, about a direct service between Heathrow and Southampton.
Any expansion of services would probably need more trains.
If they need more Class 387 trains in the future, there are two operators, who have small fleets of Class 387 trains.
- Great Northern have twenty-nine trains.
- c2c have six trains.
Some of these might become available, as the operators consolidate and update their fleets.
Acquiring more Class 332 trains could be problematical.
The Class 387 trains route, means that Heathrow Express will remain a fleet of identical trains.
Operation On Routes With Third Rail Electrification
Any expansion of Heathrow Express to the Western side of Terminal 5 could connect to the extensive network of third-rail electrification.
For this reason, a Heathrow Express fleet without the capability to use third-rail electrification, would be limited in its market.
The Class 387 trains have been designed as dual voltage units and could work on third-rail networks by adding third-rail shoes.
Can Class 332 trains work on third-rail routes?
Operating Speed
The Class 387 trains are also 110 mph trains, whereas the operating speed of the Class 332 trains is 100 mph.
The faster operating speed must help operation on the busy fast lines to and from Paddington, where the Class 800 trains are 125 mph capable.
Train Length Issues
Consider.
- The current Class 332 trains, run as nine-car trains, consisting of one four-car and one five-car trainset.
- Class 387 trains are basically a four-car trainset, which can run as four, eight or twelve-car trains.
- To complicate matters, Crossrail, which will use the same platforms at Heathrow are planning to nine-car Class 345 trains, but these could be lengthened to ten or even eleven cars.
These probably cause no problems with the current service, as running eight-car Class 387 trains would probably provide enough capacity.
Would a twelve-car Class 387 train need some platforms to be lengthened?
A four-car Class 387 unit is 80.77 metres long, so a twelve-car train would be 243 metres long.
This compares with the following.
- Heathrow Express Class 332 – Nine cars – 206 metres.
- Crossrail Class 345 – Nine cars – 205 metres
- High Speed Train running with eight carriages – 220 metres
- Inter-City 225 running with nine carriages – 246 metres
- Two five-car Class 444 trains running togeyther – 230 metres
- Two five-car Class 800 trains running together – 260 metres
A twelve-car Class 387 train is long, but not wildly out of line.
As the pairs of Class 800 trains work into Paddington,, I suspect twelve-car Class 387 trains can do the same.
If there is a problem, it will be in the Hathrow stations.
Alternatively, could some extra cars be built by Bombardier to create five-car trains, that would work as ten-car units, which would be around two hundred metres long?
Joining And Splitting Of Trains
Could Heathrow Express benefit from trains with the ability to split and join?
When there are more than one route to the West from Terminal 5, there may be advantages for trains to split and join in Terminal 5 station, to serve more than one destination to the West of the airport.
This picture was taken, as I watched two Class 387 trains joining together.
Note the driver in the cab on the right, controlling the process.
There is also a gangway between the two Class 387 trains, which the Class 332 trains don’t have.
Updating The Trains
The production of Class 387 trains has only just finished at Derby, but the Class 332 trains were built twenty years ago.
So could it be, that creating a modern fleet with all the features needed is easier with the later trains?
Suitability For Use With Heathrow Southern Railway Proposal
There are various issues here.
These concern fleet size and capacity
- Any extensions to the South and West will need more trains.
- If express services between Basingstoke, Guildford and Woking, and Paddington via Heathrow are successful, this could lead to calls for more services and other destinations, which could need more trains.
- If five-car units were needed, then Bombardier could probably oblige.
- There may be a need to lengthen platforms at the Heathrow stations.
Expanding a Class 387 train fleet would be easier.
There are also line speed issues.
- What would be the design operating speed of Heathrow Southern Railway’s tracks alongside the M25? – 90, 100 or even 125 mph!
- Could the operating speed of the Chertsey Branch Line be increased to the same speed, as there are only two stations; Chertsey and Addlestone?
The 110 mph maximum speed of a Class 387 could be a serious advantage, as speed sells!
How Many Trains Would Need To Be Converted?
Currently, there are fourteen Class 332 trains working Heathrow Express services.
They usually work in pairs, so there are seven trains.
If these are replaced by twelve-car Class 387 formations, that means up to twenty-one trains will be needed for the airport services from their current fleet of forty-five trains.
Eight-car formations would need fourteen trains.
Conclusion
It appears to me, that it is good decision to change the fleet for Class 387 trains.
Overall Conclusion
It’s all coming together for Heathrow Southern Railway.
MTR Vying To Join Heathrow Southern Rail Bid
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in New Civil Engineer.
The title gives you all you need, but consider these facts about MTR.
- MTR is a Hong Kong company with a revene of about £4 billion per year, which is about the same size as the Stagecoach Group.
- MTR will be running Crossrail for Transport for London.
- MTR in partnership with First Group, are running South Western Railway.
In addition, FirstGroup are running Great Western Railway.
So it could seem logical for MTR to be included in the consortium behind Heathrow Southern Railway, as they could have a lot of influence on the consortium’s policies.
In an argument about train paths or stations, MTR or their partner; First Group, will be involved on both sides.
The problem is Heathrow Airport and their ownership of Heathrow Express, especially if it is extended deep into South Western Railway territory at Basingstoke, Guildford or Working.
This is said on the Heathrow Southern Railway web site.
Whether or not a third runway is built, many more passengers and airport workers need to be accessing Heathrow by train. The Government’s recent M25 South West Quadrant Study ruled out widening the motorway. HSR provides the alternative, switching traffic from the roads and contributing to improving local air quality. We estimate that HSR will reduce use of this section of the M25 by over three million car trips a year.
Heathrow might be a greedy bully, but they probably need a superb rail service more, than they need to own Heathrow Express.
MTR and AECOM, who is a large partner in Heathrow Southern Railway partner, are big enough to stand up to anybody.
Traffic Between Windsor And Staines After The Building Of Heathrow Southern Railway
Currently, Windsor and Eton Riverside station has a two train per hour (tph) service to Waterloo, which calls at Staines.
These are also the only trains on the Staines-Windsor Line.
So if, there are four tph on a Crossrail service from Heathrow to Staines, as I talked about in Heathrow Southern Railway’s Plans For Staines, then that only raises the frequency of the trains on the Southern part of the Staines-Windsor Line to six tph.
In his article about the Heathrow Southern Railway in the December 2016 Edition of Modern Railways, Chris Stokes says this.
With the addition of a chord at Staines, it would also be potentially possible to operate a half-hourly Weybridge – Virginia Water – Egham – Terminal 5 service, providing a further attractive local link to Heathrow.
If this service were to be added, that only raises the frequency to eight tph.
I suspect that if modern signalling techniques were applied, that the capacity of this route would be above this frequency.
Heathrow Terminal 5 Station
I doubt there will be any problems of capacity at Heathrow Terminal 5 station.
The station has been built with two Piccadilly Line and four heavy rail platforms.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr, shows the platform layout.
Note.
- It would appear there are only two heavy rail platforms in use.
- Through trains would use these currently in use platforms.
- The two spare platforms could be arranged, so that they could handle a terminating train from either direction.
- The terminating platforms can probably handle four tph or even six tph.
- The through platforms can handle well over ten tph, with the right signalling.
Someone seems to have got the design right.
The Future Of Heathrow Express
In his Modern Railways article, Chris Stokes says this about services from Woking to Heathrow.
We have assumed half-hourly services from Basingstoke and Guildford to Heathrow and Paddington, providing a 15-minute frequency from Woking, with stops at Farnborough Main (Basingstoke services), Working, Terminal 5, Terminal 2 and 3 and Old Oak Common.
He also says that this service could take over the Heathrow Express paths and it would use the through platforms at Heathrow Terminal 5 station.
This arrangement has several advantages.
- Heathrow Express doesn’t terminate in the tunnels under Terminal 5.
- No new train paths between Heathrow and Paddington are required
- Heathrow Express gets new destinations without any expensive new infrastructure.
But it would appear that Heathrow Express may have a future.
Crossrail Gets A Convenient Hotel
This article on The Urban Developer is entitled London’s Newest Skyscraper Gets Green Light.
This is the first two paragraphs.
London’s Paddington will soon be home to a new 20-storey hotel tower, dubbed The Gateway Building, after planning permission was granted by Westminster council planners.
The Sheldon Square site will house the 113-metre-high hotel designed by architects Carmody Groarke for developer British Land. The hotel will provide access to the area’s new Crossrail station, with the third basement level expected to provide access to the Elizabeth Line — connecting Reading with London and Heathrow.
As they say, location is everything!
- Crossrail will whisk you to and from Heathrow.
- There’s not many hotels with direct access to the station underneath.
- For the businessman who has everything, Bond Street is only one stop away for the trophy wife to spend your hard-earned money.
- The City and Canary Wharf are just a few stops further.
I doubt the hotel will be a Premier Inn.
How many other skyscraper hotels will sprout up along Crossrail?
Each one will be another nail in the coffin of Heathrow Express.
Could Thameslink Connect To Heathrow?
This may seem an outrageous idea.
But I think it could be possible.
Can Class 345 Trains And Class 700 Trains Use The Same Tracks And Platforms?
Crossrail may use Class 345 trains and Thameslink may use Class 700 trains, but can the two trains use the same tracks and platforms?
Recently, Cambridge North station has opened and it will certainly be compatible with Class 700 trains and Greater Anglia’s Class 720 trains, which are closely related to the Crossrail trains.
Heathrow’s platforms do not have platform-edge doors.
Both trains are designed to work at high frequencies using ERTMS.
So I think the answer to my question is a solid yes!
How Would Thameslink Trains Get To Heathrow?
The original plan for Heathrow Express envisaged using both Paddington and St. Pancras as terminals in Central London.
It would have used the Dudding Hill Line as a connection between the Great Western Main Line and the Midland Main Line.
This Google Map shows the tracks to the East of Acton Main Line station.
Note.
- The four tracks of the Great Western Main Line run through Acton Main Line station.
- The most Southerly pair of tracks are the fast lines, whilst the next pair are the slow lines as used by Crossrail.
- The tracks shown in orange are the North London Line.
- The two extra lines to the North of Acton Main Line station are the Goods Lines, connect at Acton Wells Junction to the North London Line, so freight trains can go across London between the Great Western Main Line and Stratford.
After crossing over the Central Line, the route splits with the North London Line going East to Stratford and the Dudding Hill Line going North through Acton Canal Wharf Junction.
To get to and from Heathrow, the services would take the same route as Crossrail to the West of Acton Main Line station.
The services would use the existing Cricklewood Curve Junction to connect with the Thameslink route to the North of Cricklewood station.
What New Infrastructure Would Be Required?
The infrastructure needed would not be of the sort of scale needed for Crossrail or Thameslink.
- The Dudding Hill Line is would need to be electrified.
- The Dudding Hill Line is double-track throughout.
- The 30 mph speed limit of the Dudding Hill Line would need to be increased.
- Would Harlesden and Dudding Hill stations be reopened or other new ones built?
- The stations at Heathrow could probably handle Class 700 trains without too much difficulty.
- There might be a need for a flyover to sort out the tangle of lines between Cricklewood and St. Pancras.
But nothing is too complicated or difficult.
What Frequency Of Thameslink Trains Would Serve Heathrow?
Currently, the following services are provided
- Heathrow Express has four tph to Terminal 5 via Heathrow Central
- There is a shuttle between Heathrow Central and Terminal 4, run by Heathrow Express.
- Heathrow Connect run two tph to Heathrow Central.
When Crossrail opens in December 2019, the service to Heathrow will be four trains per hour (tph) to Terminal 5 and two tph to Terminal 4.
Crossrail will also provide the shuttle between Heathrow Central and Terminal 4.
It is certainly not a system designed by any individual or committee with any sense of good design.
At least, both Terminal 4 and Terminal 5 stations have two terminal platforms, so the two stations should each be able to handle up to eight tph.
If they did this would mean up to sixteen tph on the Heathrow spur, which would be well within the capability of the route and trains running using ERTMS, which will handle up to 24 tph on both Crossrail and Thameslink in the few years.
Under current plans, it appears that when Crossrail opens, the stations will get the following services.
- Heathrow Central – 10 tph
- Heathrow Terminal 4 – 2 tph plus shuttles
- Heathrow Terminal 5 – 8 tph
I’m assuming that Heathrow Connect will quietly fade away.
With a bit of reorganisation of the services, it should be possible to squeeze another six tph into the airport, without building any new terminal platforms.
So I feel that say four tph Thameslink trains to Heathrow would be possible.
Could Crossrail Handle The Extra Trains?
The Thameslink trains would have to run on the Crossrail tracks between Acton Main Line station and Heathrow Airport Junction.
Currently Crossrail are proposing running 12 tph on this section, so as ERTMS can handle double this, I suspect there shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
Could Thameslink Handle The Extra Trains?
This article on Rail Engineer, which is entitled Thameslink Signalling Update, says this about possible Thameslink frequencies.
To meet the specification of 24 tph through the Thameslink core section, it is necessary to deploy Automatic Train Operation (ATO). This will provide a peak theoretical capacity of 30 tph, thereby creating a reliable 24 tph service with acceptable recovery margins.
So an extra six tph could be possible.
Would A Service Between Heathrow and Gatwick Airports Be Possible?
In my view it would be the logical service.
It would certainly be possible!
And it could also be a journey without any change of train!
Would There Be Any Other Useful Connections?
These are a few thoughts and ideas.
Same Platform Interchanges
Cross-city lines like Crossrail, Merseyrail’s Northern Line and Thameslink, have the advantage, that if you are going in the right direction, but are on a train to the wrong destination, you can just get off the train and wait for the correct train.
So if you leave Heathrow on a Gatwick train and you need to go to Maidstone East, you would get off at any of the stations in the central core and wait until the next Maidstone East train arrives.
Everybody will have their own favourite interchanges. Mine would probably be Blackfriars station, as it is above the Thames, has lots of seats and there is a large coffee shop on both platforms.
The ability to do this will mean that all stations South of West Hampstead Thameslink station will have a very easy link to and from Heathrow.
Reversing Stations
Crossrail has several stations where you can reverse your direction of travel by just walking across the platform. Whitechapel station will allow passengers to go between Abbey Wood and Shenfield stations without going up or down any steps or escalators.
Thameslink only has one reversing station at London Bridge station, although St. Pancras Thamslink has escalators and lifts to allow passengers to change direction in a short time.
West Hampstead Interchange
If plans for a West Hampstead Interchange materialise, this will link the following lines.
- Chiltern Railways
- Jubilee Line
- Metropolitan Line
- Midland Main L:ine
- North London Line
Note.
- This could be a very good interchange to be connected to Heathrow.
- West Hampstead Interchange would be a good alternative until Old Oak Common station is built.
- Passengers going between Heathrow and stations on the Midland Main Line to the North could change here.
Those like me living along the North London Line would find it a convenient way to get to and from Heathrow.
Kings Cross And St. Pancras Stations
The massive complex at Kings Cross and St. Pancras stations currently links the following lines.
- Eurostar
- Midland Main Line
- East Coast Main Line
- Southeastern Highspeed services
- Circle Line
- Hammersmith and City Line
- Metropolitan Line
- Northern Line
- Piccadilly Line
- Victoria Line
But the only way to get directly to Heathrow is a nearly hour long journey on the Piccadilly Line. Thameslink could be just over half that time, in a less cramped train.
Blackfriars Station
I use Blackfriars station a lot, as it is my the Tate Modern.
But others will use it as a same platform interchage for reasons I outlined erlier.
London Bridge Station
London Bridge station is another important interchange, with links to the following lines.
- Southeastern services to Kent
- Southern services to Surrey and Sussex.
- Jubilee Line
- Northern Line
Note.
- This new station is well-equipped and interchange is totally step-free.
- It is also a short walk to the city across London Bridge.
- This station will be a very good same platform interchange.
- The station allows passengers to reverse direction by just walking across the platform.
As with West Hampstead, this could be a very good interchange to be connected to Heathrow.
East Croydon, Orpington and Wimbledon Stations
East Croydon, Orpington and Wimbledon stations, which are important local hubs, would all be well-connected to Heathrow.
Collateral Benefits
Crossrail 2
Crossrail 2 is planning to have a Euston St. Pancras station, which is described like this in Wikipedia.
It would be a “mega station” serving the existing Euston, King’s Cross and St. Pancras main line stations. If funded and completed, it will be one of two such stations on the Crossrail 2 route (the other being Dalston).
If this station is designed properly, I am sure it will have the following.
- A step-free and convenient link to both Thameslink and Eurostar.
- Some form of high-capacity hi-tech people-mover, stretching under Euston Road, linking Kings Cross, St. Pancras and Euston stations.
I believe a station design is possible that makes the connection between HS1 and HS2 a no-hassle transfer for all passengers in less than ten minutes.
The people-mover should be in place when HS2 opens in December 2026, so that a credible HS1 to HS2 link opens at the same time.
Gatwick, Heathrow, HS1 And HS2 Will Be On One Rail Line
This could be of tremendous benefit to Londoners, travellers, tourists, rail companies and airlines, but Heathrow might not like it, as it could undermine their dominant position.
If Crossrail 2 opens around 2030, this will bring Stansted into the hub.
The Most Important Railway Station In The World
Eventually, Euston St. Pancras station will become the busiest and most important railway station in the world.
How Will Terminal Development At Heathrow Affect Crossrail And Thameslink?
Heathrow are disclosing a master-plan, for rebuilding a lot of the airport to make it more efficient and up with the best.
- There will be two main terminals; Heathrow West and Heathrow East with satellites in between handling the actual planes.
- These two terminals and the satellites will be between the two existing runways, with a passenger and baggage transport system beneath.
- Terminal Five will become Heathrow West.
- An extended Terminal Two will become Heathrow East.
- Crossrail, Heathrow Express and the Underground will serve both main terminals.
I believe that this rebuilding could start in the next few years.
Heathrow will make sure they future-proof rail access, so we could see.
- More terminal platforms at both Heathrow East and Heathrow West
- Through platforms at Heathrow West to allow trains to go West from both terminals.
- Freight shuttles bringing in provisions for the airport, the airlines and the aircraft.
This will allow Crossrail, Thameslink, Heathrow Express and other operators to have as many services as is thought necessary.
The biggest constraint will be the capacity of the Great Western Railway and the two tracks used by Crossrail.
Will Other Operastors Be Allowed Use Heathrow?
This probably depends more on politics than anything else, but technically these facts apply.
Bombardier Aventras
Bombardier have hinted that the design of an Aventra can provide commuter trains like Crossrail’s Class 345 trains and 125 mph expresses.
So it would be likely that a 125 mph Aventra of appropriate length would be able to serve Heathrow, if that were thought necessary!
All Trains Would Be Electric
I suspect that regulations would mean all trains would be electric, as you don’t want diesel or hydrogen fuels in the tunnels under Heathrow.
ERTMS
I also suspect that all trains using the eathrow stations would need to be equipped with ERTMS.
Possible Routes
Who knows what routes will become possible, but as the list of trains grows that are acceptable to Heathrow, various possibilities will arise.
- Great Western Railway to Bristol
- Great Western Railway to Cardiff
- London Overground to Clapham Junction station
- London Overground to Stratford
- South Western Railway to Southampton
- East Midlands Trains to Bedford/Kettering/Corby
- West Midlands Trains to Watford/Milton Keynes/Birmingham
After Heathrow terminals are updated to East and West, there would be scope for cross country routes going vaguely South-West to North-East calling at both terminals in Heathrow.
Will Thameslink And Crossrail Strangle Heathrow Express?
I wonder if a ink to Thameslink will be more valuable to Heathrow, than Heathrow Express.
- Abandoning Heathrow Express would release valuable platform space at Heathrow and Paddington.
- Crossrail and Thameslink together would have connections all over London, rather than just Paddington.
- Crossrail to and from Paddington would only take about five or six minutes longer.
- Heathrow Express will have to update their trains with ERTMS and to compete with Crossrail.
- Heathrow Express usually means a taxi to your hotel to and from Paddington.
- Crossrail will connect the West End, The City and Canary Wharf to Heathrow.
Convenience and cost will eventually strangle Heathrow Express.
Conclusion
The following statements would appear to be true.
- Class 345 and Class 700 trains can use the same infrastructure.
- Crossrail and Thameslink both use ERTMS.
- The stations at Heathrow,the Western section of Crossrail and the Thameslink core have spare capacity.
This means it should be possible to extend Thameslink services to Heathrow with a frequency of at least four tph, using an electrified Dudding Hill Line.
Some new infrastructure would be required, but nothing as comprehensive, as that for Crossrail and Thameslink.
Crossrail To Heathrow, Reading And Southend
Crossrail To Heathrow
In the Wikipedia entry for Crossrail, there is a section called Extensions.
This is said under a sub-section called Heathrow Express.
The RUS also proposes integrating Heathrow Express services from Heathrow Terminal 5 into Crossrail to relieve the GWML and reduce the need for passengers to change at Paddington.
Note RUS refers to Network Rail’s Route Utilisation Study of 2011 and GWML is the Great Western Main Line.
Currently, Heathrow Express takes fifteen minutes to go between Paddington and Heathrow Central stations, with Heathrow Connect taking thirty-two minutes with five stops.
The journey time calculator on the Crossrail site, says the trains will take twenty-three minutes with six stops. But as I said in Are Crossrail And Bombardier Having Us On?, Crossrail’s journey time estimates aren’t very good to say the least.
I think until the Crossrail trains reach Heathrow next May 2018, any speculation I make of the time they take between Paddington and Heathrow Central will be very wide of the mark.
However, this can be said of Heathrow Express and Crossrail to Heathrow.
- As the RUS says Heathrow Express services use four paths per hour on the GWML in both directions and these paths would be released for other services if Heathrow Express used the dedicated Crossrail tracks.
- Most Heathrow Express passengers will not be going to Paddington or the surrounding area of the station.
- When fully developed Crossrail will connect Canary Wharf, the City of London, the West End and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, to name just four important destinations, directly to Heathrow Airport.
- If Crossrail works as it says on the box, every travel guide and expert, will recommend you use your contactless bank card to travel on this wonderful new airport train.
- I would suspect, that given Heathrow’s expansion plans, that the Heathrow branch of Crossrail has a capacity in excess of ten trains per hour (tph).
- The accommodation and comfort level in Crossrail’s Class 345 trains is high and well suited for an airport service.
I think that Heathrow Express will be increasingly deserted by passengers, in favour of the cheaper and more convenient Crossrail.
So could the two services be integrated together?
In theory, Heathrow Express could use the Crossrail tracks to Paddington, but there would be problems.
- Heathrow Express trains would have to leave the Crossrail tracks to get into Paddington.
- Would Crossrail want non-stop trains speeding through suburban stations like Southall, with their high suicide rates?
So then why not create a Heathrow Express, that used the Crossrail tracks and stopped at say Old Oak Common (for HS2), Paddington, Bond Street, Farringdon (for Thameslink), Liverpool Street and Canary Wharf?
- Heathrow Express would have to buy new trains compatible with the platform-edge doors in Crossrail’s tunnels.
- Where would the trains be turned back? Perhaps a turnback facility could be built at Liverpool Street at a cost of several hundred million pounds!
- It would still speed through suburban stations.
- Trains moving at different speeds would reduce the capacity of Crossrail.
- As Crossrail and Heathrow Express will use the same platforms at stations, how do you stop people without expensive special tickets using Heathrow Express?
Heathrow will continue to argue to keep Heathrow Express, but in practice in the future, it will be as outdated a concept as trains pulled by steam engines.
So one of two things will happen.
- Heathrow Express will continue as now, using two valuable platforms at Paddington and the four equally valuable paths per hour on the GWML.
- It will be discontinued.
I believe that in some date in the future, only three rail services will serve Heathrow.
- London Underground’s Piccadilly Line.
- A Crossrail service to London and the East.
- A Crossrail service to Reading and the West, which would rejoin the slow tracks of the GWML to the East of Langley station.
The two Crossrail services would probably be run back-to-back, so that fewer trains were turned back at Heathrow.
The two Crossrail branches to Heathrow and Reading would merge easily to the West of Hayes and Harlington station and there would be no complications caused by Heathrow Express trains crossing to and from the fast lines.
Crossrail To Reading
Just over a month ago, Transport for London (TfL) ordered four extra Crossrail trains and announced extra services to Heathrow and Reading. I discussed this in Crossrail Expands Before It Opens
I said this.
Four new Class 345 trains are being ordered, which will mean that in the Off Peak the following will happen.
- Trains between Whitechapel and Paddington will increase from 16 tph to 20.
- Trains between Paddington and Shenfield will increase by two tph
- Trains between Paddington and Abbey Wood will increase by two tph
- Trains between Paddington and Reading will double from two tph to four.
- Trains between Paddington and Maidenhead will increase from four tph to six
- From December 2019, six tph will call at Heathrow Terminal 5.
I also found this quote in the article on Global Rail News, that was the source for the increased services.
The increased service frequency will be achieved, in part, by replacing five Great Western Railway services with Elizabeth line trains.
So could we be seeing a degree of co-operation between TfL, Crossrail and Great Western Railway, whereby the following services are provided?
- Slow stopping services are run by Crossrail on the two slow lines.
- Fast and semi-fast services are run by Great Western Railway on the two fast lines.
This would be operationally simple and might even create extra paths into London for more long-distance services.
The problem are the local stopping trains to Oxford (2 tph) and Bedwyn (1 tph). Will they run on the slow or fast lines between Paddington and Reading?
Consider the service to Bedwyn.
- A five-car Class 800 train could run the service.
- Small modifications at Bedwyn would probably be needed to allow the Class 800 train to use the turnback.
- The train would run using electricity until the wires ran out near Newbury and then diesel.
- The service could run semi-fast or non-stop between Paddington and Reading.
- Nine-car Crossrail Class 345 trains would probably need a lot of platform lengthening, in addition to the electrification to be used to Bedwyn.
And the stopping service to Oxford.
- A five-car Class 800 train could run the service.
- A planned new bay platform at Oxford station would handle the service.
- The train would run using electricity until the wires ran out near Didcot and then diesel.
- The service could run semi-fast or non-stop between Paddington and Reading.
- Niine-car Crossrail Class 345 trains would probably need some platform lengthening, in addition to the electrification, to be used to Oxford.
If the two services are considered together, they could join and split at Reading to save paths on the fast lines.
I think that on balance to use a pair of Class 800 trains would be better than to extend Crossrail past Reading.
Consider.
- A second service to Bedwyn could be easily added.
- A large number of long-distance trains call at Reading station.
- Reading has been designed for easy interchange between fast and slow services.
- Crossrail will be providing at least four tph between Paddington and Reading that stop at all stations.
- Reading has services into Waterloo.
I’m certain that the train companies can find a very efficient solution.
I can see a situation, where Great Western Railway aren’t going to need many Class 387 trains in the Thames Valley.
Crossrail To Oxford
This may seem a bit over the top, but analysis might show, that the best way to create more capacity between Reading and Oxford, might be to extend two Reading Crossrail services each hour to Oxford, when the electrification to Oxford is complete.
Crossrail To Southend
Just as it appears there is co-operation between Crossrail, Great Western Railway and TfL, could similar co-operation between Crossrail, Greater Anglia and TfL, result in improved services on the Shenfield to Southend Line? I wrote about this in Crossrail Tests Its Trains In Southend.
The Long Distance Class 345 Train
Adding Oxford and/or Southend to Crossrail services, may need a sub-class of Class 345 train to be created, due to the length of the journey. Toilets would be the obvious addition.
